SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A rain-delayed construction project forced Shelby County teachers to put on their thinking caps.
The new school year begins in a week, but the district's new Marnel C. Moorman school isn't ready yet. This week, teachers are setting up temporary classrooms.
One of those is Melissa Chesterfield, who, at first glance, looks like an ordinary teacher setting up an ordinary classroom. But appearances can be deceptive.
Two weeks ago, her "classroom" in the Blair Center in Shelbyville was a re-purposed old gym, a meeting space for Shelby County Schools. And Chesterfield said there's nothing "ordinary" about the way this school year is starting.
Melissa Chesterfield, sixth grade teacher for Shelby County Schools.
"Sixteen years (teaching), and I've never had a start like this," she said. "But it's going to be great. I'm so excited."
The space will be the temporary home for all sixth graders who are slated to attend Marnel C. Moorman when it's complete. Chesterfield said she's up to the challenge of converting it.
"I think you have to move things around and think about what you have and the needs for the space," she said.
Chesterfield and her colleagues split the Blair Center into three different classroom spaces for about 140 kids. Similar accommodations are being made throughout the district, finding space for about 600 students who will attend Marnel C. Moorman from Kindergarten through eighth grade.
Shelby County delayed the start of a new year nearly two weeks, hoping to finish construction.
School is now scheduled to start on Sept. 3. The school district blamed rain for the delay. On Tuesday afternoon, construction crews installed siding on the front of the building.
Marnel C. Moorman School
School leaders hoped MCM would be ready for kids on Oct. 1 in their revised schedule. Superintendent James Neihof told parents to plan for the students to use the temporary classrooms for at least a month.
He said he meets with the contractor weekly.
"During the month of September, we'll have a lot better gauge on where the project is and will tell them about a move-in date." he said.
Shelby County Schools Superintendent James Neihof
Chesterfield and her colleagues say they are committed to making the transition as smooth as possible.
"We're teachers," Chesterfield said. "A lot of brains and creativity and problem-solving too."
Here's the breakdown for temporary classrooms for displaced Marnel C. Moorman students:
- Marnel C. Moorman kindergarten students will be hosted in Rooms 119 and 204 of Southside Elementary School.
- Marnel C. Moorman students in grades 1,2 and 3 will be hosted at Clear Creek Elementary in the Media Center classroom, along with Rooms 104, 105 and 210.
- Marnel C. Moorman students in grades 4,5, and 6 will be hosted in the Blair Center on the Southside Elementary Campus, in classrooms and large conference spaces.
- Marnel C. Moorman students in grades 7 and 8 will be hosted in the East Wing of the second floor of Collins High School previously used for the 8th grade.
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